1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a method for shifting goods and an apparatus for carrying out the method in which goods are taken out of a container having an opening portion, such as a corrugated fiberboard box, a plastic container or the like, and particularly to a method for shifting goods and an apparatus for carrying out the method in which goods can be effectively and certainly taken out in such a manner as to correspond to the arrangement of goods contained in a container.
2. Description of the Prior Art
On the prior art relating to a method for shifting goods and an apparatus therefor, there have been known those as described in Japanese Patent Publication No. Sho 53-7875, Japanese Patent Early Laid-open Publication No. Sho 60-13615, Japanese Patent Early Laid-open Publication No. Sho 62-153017, Japanese Patent Publication No. Sho 55-43873, Japanese Utility Model Publication No. Sho 57-21842, etc.
In Japanese Patent Publication No. Sho 53-7875, there is described a method for encasing goods, in which a packing box including an inner partition has an open bottom so that goods can smoothly be encased through the open bottom. In Japanese Patent Early Laid-open Publication No. Sho 60-13615, there is described a guiding frame of a bottle packing machine, in which goods (bottles) are guided to a packing box or case and stored therein as one lot without disordering the arrangement of the goods. Also, in Japanese Patent Early Laid-open Publication No. Sho 62-153017, there is described an apparatus for orderly taking out goods which are transferred on the line without disordering the arrangement of the goods.
Also, in Japanese Patent Publication No. Sho 55-43873, there is described a manipulator, in which a plurality of goods can simultaneously be held or released by one driving system. In Japanese Utility Model Publication No. Sho 57-21842, there is described an uncaser (uncasing device) of the type in that goods arranged in several rows and stored within a delivery case are taken out and fed by a single row at a time.
However, the encasing method described in Japanese Patent Publication No. Sho 53-7875, the guiding frame described in Japanese Patent Early Laid-open Publication No. Sho 60-13615, or the apparatus for orderly taking out bottles, etc. described in Japanese Patent Early Laid-open Publication No. Sho 62-153017 merely discloses encasing techniques, etc. which are utilized at one stage of processes for producing goods. None of them discloses or even suggest that goods contained in a container are taken out in the form as arranged in the container. That is, in the method for encasing goods described in Japanese Patent Publication No. Sho 53-7875, it is impossible to shift goods contained in a container into the above-mentioned packing box in the form as orderly arranged in the container because the inner partitions of the packing box are not projected outside the packing box and therefore, the inner partitions cannot be inserted into the container which contains goods therein. Also, in the guiding frame described in Japanese Patent Early Laid-open Publication No. Sho 60-13615, although a guiding frame (partition) can be inserted between bottles (goods) which are held by a bottle holder, the goods contained in the container cannot be taken out because it is designed as such that the partitions must be inserted between the goods from the bottom side thereof. Also, in the apparatus for orderly taking out bottles, etc. which is described in Japanese Patent Early Laid-open Publication No. 62-153017, goods contained in a container having a side wall cannot be taken out of the container because a bottle arranging member must be horizontally moved in order to take out the goods according to this apparatus.
Also, in the manipulator described in Japanese Patent Publication No. Sho 55-43873 or in the uncaser for taking out and feeding goods arranged in several rows within a container by each row at a time described in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. Sho 57-21842, since a plurality of goods contained in a container is held, one each at a time, by a chucking head, any disorderly arrangement of the goods within a container makes it impossible for the chucking head to hold goods for shifting.
Also, as the prior art relating to an apparatus for shifting goods, there have been known those disclosed in a printed matter titled "[Material-handling and Machine] an order picking system handbook" (hereinafter referred to as the "literature 1"), extra edition issued by Niyaku Kenkyusho (Japan Material-handling Laboratory) on Oct. 1, 1981, Japanese Patent Early Laid-open Publication No. Sho 62-185604, etc. In FIG. 2 on page 29 of the literature 1, there is illustrated a gravity flow rack (goods racking apparatus) having racking spaces intermittently arranged along an outlet conveyor. Also, in Japanese Patent Early Laid-open Publication No. Sho 62-185604, there is described an automatic warehouse (automatic storage & retrieval system) including two moving apparatuses (goods transfer apparatus), end portions of moving paths (traveling path) thereof being overlapped with each other, and a storing rack (goods racking apparatus) having storing portions (racking spaces) continuously disposed at both sides along the traveling path.
However, the apparatus described in the literature 1 and the automatic warehouse described in Japanese Patent Early Laid-open Publication No. Sho 62-185604 do not describe or even suggest that goods are shifted from a goods racking apparatus such as storing facilities, etc. to another goods racking apparatus such as goods take-out apparatus, etc. with a traveling path disposed therebetween. And, in the automatic warehouse described in Japanese Patent Early Laid-open Publication No. Sho 62-185604, any of the goods racking apparatuses disposed at both sides of the traveling path has racking spaces continuously disposed and goods are taken in and out of the racking spaces at both sides of the traveling path by the respective goods transfer apparatuses. Therefore, there is a high degree of possibility that the adjacent goods transfer apparatuses enter into an interference zone with each other. Therefore, it frequently occurs that one of the goods transfer apparatuses must wait until the adjacent other goods transfer apparatus comes out of the interference zone. Thus, the working efficiency for transferring goods is lowered.
Also, as the prior art relating to a method for taking out goods which have been shifted during the goods shifting work and an apparatus for carrying out the method, there has been known one described in Japanese Patent Early Laid-open Publication No. Sho 58-47220, etc. In this Publication, there is described an automatic weighing apparatus comprising an opening and closing shutter disposed proximate to an upper surface of a series of containers which are to be carried to a predetermined position, and a timing hopper provided with the same number of pooling spaces for objects to be weighed with respect to the number of the containers formed in such a manner as to correspond to the respective containers of said series of containers by serving the opening and closing shutter as a bottom surface thereof, the opening and closing shutter being moved to feed the objects to be weighed and pooled in the respective pooling spaces to the corresponding containers.
However, in the automatic weighing apparatus described in Japanese Patent Early Laid-open Publication No. Sho 58-47220, the objects to be weighed and pooled in a plurality of pooling spaces can be taken out and brought into the corresponding containers. However, since the opening and closing shutter is formed of one sheet plate, the goods (objects to be weighted) contained (pooled) in the respective goods storing portions (pooling spaces) are taken out all at a time, and the goods (objects to be weighted which are pooled) cannot be taken out by a desired number (pooling spaces) at a time.
Also, as the prior art relating to a goods feeding apparatus in which goods shifted are fed to a desired storing box, there has been known one described in Japanese Patent Publication No. Sho 52-23147, etc. In this Publication, there is described a spiral chute including a plurality of the paths for throwing in (chutes) so that goods fed into the chutes are transferred (slid) downward.
However, in the spiral chute described in the above-mentioned Publication, the goods which have been carried into the plurality of the paths for throwing in (chutes) cannot be stored midway in the paths for throwing in (chutes) and/or on the respective goods transfer paths of the spiral chute. Also, since the goods cannot be stored midway in the paths for throwing in (chutes) and/or on the respective transferring paths of the spiral chute, in case that goods are to be fed to a plurality of storing boxes, whenever a required number of the goods must be carried into the spiral chute through the paths for throwing in (chutes) in order to be fed to each of the plurality of storing boxes. Therefore, in case that the goods are to be fed to a plurality of storing boxes, etc. through one spiral chute, it must be started every time from the beginning state where goods are fed to the chutes. Therefore, there is the possibility of a waste of time for feeding goods to storing boxes, etc.
Also, as the prior art relating to a spiral chute which is to be used in a goods feeding path, there has been known those described in Japanese Utility Model Early Laid-open Publication No. Sho 60-36911, Japanese Patent Publication No. Sho 52-23147, etc. In Japanese Utility Model Early Laid-open Publication No. Sho 60-36911, there is described a shock absorbing apparatus comprising a cushion member disposed on a surface on which goods are to be dropped. Also, in Japanese Patent Publication No. Sho 52-23147, there is described a spiral chute which is spiraled leftward, the direction in which goods packed in a box-shape are to be slid.
However, the shock absorbing apparatus described in Japanese Utility Model Early Laid-open Publication No. Sho 60-36911 aims at absorbing the shock when goods are dropped, so as to prevent possible breakage of the goods. It merely has the function for absorbing the shock occurrable when goods are dropped onto the chute. However, no consideration is given to a point for preventing possible damages which are likely to occur to the outer surfaces of goods when they are slid down. Also, it does not describe nor even suggests that bottle-shaped goods are to be slided.
Also, in a spiral chute described in Japanese Patent Publication No. Sho 52-23147, since its sliding surface is not provided with a hair rising portion, possible damages on the outer surface of goods during sliding cannot be prevented. Also, this Publication does not describe nor even suggest that goods having a piece threadedly engaged with a screw portion are slid at random and such goods are slid by taking into consideration the spiraled direction of the spiral chute and the threadedly engaging direction of the piece so that the piece will not be loosened.
Also, as goods transfer apparatus for recovering empty containers from which goods have been shifted, there has been known one described in Japanese Patent Early Laid-open Publication No. 63-17702, etc. In this Publication, there is described the facilities for an automatic warehouse including a take-in and take-out apparatus which comprises a traveling machine body being able to travel along a plurality of divided storing spaces, a lifting table mounted on the traveling machine body, a take-in and take-out device mounted on the lifting table, a holding device for holding a container on the take-in and take-out device, an inverting device for inverting the holding device, etc.
However, since the facilities for automatic warehouse are designed as such that when the parts (goods) contained in the container have been taken out and fed into a hopper, the empty container is transferred to a container receiving table which is disposed at an end position of the divided storing spaces by means of the traveling machine body and the upward and downward movement of the lifting table and discharged, much time is required for discharging the empty container. Since the next container cannot be taken out and fed to the hopper in the meantime, overall working ability including the discharging of the empty container is extremely lowered.
The present invention has been accomplished in order to overcome the shortcomings inherent in the prior art.